Purvis Young

This publication, the first comprehensive monograph on the paintings of Purvis Young (1943-2010), collects 254 works by the Miami-born African American artist known for his lyrical depictions of current and historical events.

A self-educated artist who began drawing while incarcerated as a teenager, Young became widely known in Florida in the early 1970s with his large-scale murals consisting of paintings on scrap wood, metal and book pages, which he nailed to the walls of abandoned buildings in the Overtown neighborhood of Miami’s downtown.

Surveying paintings from throughout his career, the book is thematically arranged in 14 chapters illustrating various stages of life and concerns present in Young’s work. The book also includes an interview with Young conducted by Hans Ulrich Obrist in 2005, along with essays by Rashid Johnson, Gean Moreno, Franklin Sirmans, César Trasobares and Barbara N. Young.